DETROIT- During the 55th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, a familiar, yet new, person was introduced as the voice of Chevrolet.

“With the best lineup of vehicles ever, introducing the new Chevrolet,” said the voiceover during the 90-second commercial, which kicked off the brand’s “Find New Roads” campaign and tagline. “Why just go from ‘A’ to ‘B’ when imagination can take you everywhere?”

“Chevrolet. Find New Roads.”

The voice belonged to Golden Globe winning actor John Cusack. The 46-year-old Evanston, Ill. native -- known for movies such as “Grosse Pointe Blank,” “High Fidelity,” “Being John Malkovich” and “Identity” – has replaced funnyman Tim Allen as the voiceover talent for General Motors Co.’s largest brand.

Chris Perry, Chevrolet global vice president of marketing, said the switch was just part of the brand transitioning from the “Chevy Runs Deep” campaign to Find New Roads.

“Tim has done such a great job for us with the new campaign, we appreciate that relationship we had,” he told MLive.com in a phone interview Friday. “As we went to this new campaign, we though to freshen it up, we opted to get a new voice as well.”

The new ad (embedded above), called “Anthem,” is the first television ad of the new campaign, and is comprised of parts of upcoming 60-second ads for each vehicle featured.

Perry said Chevrolet was impressed with Cusack’s voice range and tones. “We thought his voice did a great job of fitting as a persona for Chevrolet going forward,” he said.

Robert Kolt, a Michigan State University advertising instructor, said he feels Cusack could be a good fit as Chevy redevelops its image with the new campaign.

“It seems like a logical, fresh approach,” he told MLive.com. “The Tim Allen campaign got a lot of play, and you just look to the next step."

Kolt, also president and CEO of Okemos-based advertising and public relations firm Kolt Communications Inc., said it’s not necessarily the voiceover that makes an ad, it’s the product.

“If the voice or the spokesperson presents it in a good way, and it’s positive, well that’s wonderful,” he said. “But really, when people think about buying a car, they don’t think about whom the celebrity was that brought it to them.”

GM Vice President of U.S. Sales, Service and Global Marketing Alan Batey previously told MLive.com that Chevy Runs Deep, which debuted in the fall of 2010, worked well for the brand during its centennial in 2011, but it was time for Chevy to look forward.

General Motors Co. Jan. 8 said it is changing its ''Chevy Runs Deep'' marketing campaign to ''Find New Roads.''GM

A 60-second version of the “Anthem” commercial is continuing to air on television. As of Friday, the 90-second version, which debuted during the Grammy Awards, will run on thousands of theater screens across the country before the start of movies, according to Perry.

“We’re very excited about this new campaign,” he said. “It positions Chevrolet in a new, modern contemporary light and it’s very forward-looking without discounting our past and our heritage.”

Check back to MLive.com/auto Monday morning for more regarding the launch of the campaign.